Ivy Benson
14 October 2008
THE NATIONAL Coalition Against Water Privatisation (NCAP), an affiliate of the Integrated Social Development Centre (ISODEC), has reiterated its call for government to immediately abrogate the contract signed with Aqua-Vitends Rands Limited (AVRL), and hand over the operations of Ghana water to the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL).
The demand of the social activist group followed what they termed the underperformance of the management contract signed with government in June 2006, as a means of solving the challenges facing urban water delivery in the country.
Addressing a press conference in Accra yesterday, in response to findings of a recent technical audit of the Ghana water management contract, Mr. Al-hassan Adam, the Southern Sector Coordinator of NCAP, pointed out that an audit report conducted from May to July 2007 by FiCHTNER, a German consulting company titled -"Consultants' service for technical auditor to measure management contract operator's performance", has indicted AVRL on their performance in providing solutions to the urban water delivery in the country.
NCAP, therefore, have re-stated their position that the solution to the urban water problem was investment, comprehensive overhaul of the system and expansion of infrastructure, as they indicated their conviction that the audit report had confirmed their stance about abrogating the deal.
The social activist group further demanded that government and donors must view water as a social service and must as such direct its ownership and management, adding that the Ghana standards Boards and the Public Utility and Regulation Commission must ensure quality standard of water by applying the required chemical reagents.
Outlining its follow up actions if its demands were not adhered to by government, the coalition intimated that it will organise a public forum to discuss into detail the state of water supply in Ghana, formally petition the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) to investigate AVRL and also explore the legal options available in order to protect the national interest.
The coalition, on March 3, this year, called for the abrogation of the contract with AVRL for lack of performance, however, government reacted that it was not going to do so, as it promised to put in place measures to arrest the urban water crisis.
Touching on the substance of the audit report findings, Mr. Adam indicated that the report had intimated lack of improvement on water quality, as chemical reagents for treating water against potential health threatening substances were not available, citing mining communities in Western, Brong Ahafo and Ashanti regions as affected places.
The report, according to Mr. Adam, had concluded that the water quality produced by AVRL was poor, with "High levels of iron and\or manganese, occasionally by-passed, or simply the absence of aeration/filtration step and the resulting water being directly fed into the distribution system."
The coalition was therefore quick to stress that the conclusion of the audit reports on the water quality corroborated recent media reports of stinking water being pumped into homes in parts of Accra, adding that the irregular quality check of water in the distribution lines, was an act of "wanton negligence and amounts to a reckless compromise of the public's health and safety", which must be punished.
It was the view of the coalition that in respect of non-revenue water, AVRL used commercial figures to calculate physical losses incurred due to mismanagement practices, and had therefore called on the SFO to take serious interest in the activities of the company and take the necessary steps to avert acts of fraud being perpetrated on the people of the country.
More so, Mr. Adam held the position that the management of AVRL were still using the old practices as the report indicated -"in relation to management of plants, the crew work as they have done for many years. The management contract has changed nothing in relation to the operation of the plants. No proof could be found of the presence or visit of specialised personnel from the operator. Therefore, it is doubtful whether a transfer of technology has taken place as "...the whole distribution process is handled like a black box. Only few facts are really known about how the distribution process. The technical figures are derived from commercial figures, so that the monitoring of physical losses or optimization of storage capacities can hardly be achieved."
The report, the coalition noted, did not go through due diligence to determine the actual strength and weakness of GWCL, before entering into the management contract, which it pointed out was making it difficult for any effective management on the part of AVRL, as the company's "poor performance" could not be identified.
The coalition finally showed their dissatisfaction towards the recommendation given by the German consulting company in attempting to lower standards for AVRL to prepare and implement "operations and maintenance management plan, and standards operating procedure for 10 major supply schemes", contrary to the mandate of AVRL to cover 80 urban water systems.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Ghanaian Chronicle. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
